Happiness in Your Home

I read a great little article today on one of my favorite websites, Apartment Therapy. It was titled "Using Your Home to Unlock the 3 Keys to Happiness". You should definitely check it out if you have a moment.

Read the article here.

Currently, my new Ranunculus plant is making me happy.

Tips for NYC Tourists No. 3: Preparing and Packing for Your Trip to NYC

Image courtesy of Style Hive.

Let's talk about preparing and packing for your trip to NYC.

A few things to keep in mind:
The weather here is unpredictable. Some days, it'll be cold in the morning, and within an hour of being out, the temperature could rise 15 degrees. It happens. It also could be rainy and disgusting out and in the matter of a half hour turn out to be an absolutely gorgeous day. That being said, first thing to do when packing is to pack layers. This is very important.

Layers are the best choice for clothing here. Obviously if you're here in the winter, you will want to bring a heavy winter jacket because it can be VERY cold, but under that - LAYER LAYER LAYER!

In the spring, it can be chilly, so again, LAYER LAYER LAYER.

In the summer, it's hot. So just wear as little clothing as possible. I'm not kidding. So un-layer. Haha.

You see where I'm going here.

The layers are important just for staying comfortable since you'll be out and about for 12+ hours a day and won't necessarily be able to change without altering your plans (ie If you're staying uptown at a hotel but are at the Statue of Liberty and decide you need to change clothes, you will most likely lose at least an hour and a half from your day). Museums and shops get hot. Walking around can be chilly. If you have layers, you can adjust accordingly.

Wear comfortable shoes. I can't say this enough. If you don't live in a city, chances are you don't walk as much on a daily basis as you will when you're up here. You will walk here. A lot. Therefore, this is NOT the trip to break in a new pair of shoes. This is probably NOT the trip to only bring that one gorgeous and stylish pair of boots or heels to show off on the streets of New York while you're visiting Museum Mile or shopping in Soho.

Be realistic. Wear a comfortable pair of shoes. Bring stylish shoes for a fun dinner or something like that where you'll take a cab to get there or just be walking a short distance (Ladies, I'm mostly talking to you here! If you're going to do this though, why not buy and throw a pair of these in your bag). Your feet will thank you.

Another packing tip - don't stress if you forget something. There is pretty much a Walgreens, Duane Reade or CVS on every corner here. Heck, if you want to save some space in your bag, don't even bring shampoo and whatnot - pick it up when you get here. Just an idea to save you some space to bring back all of the awesome stuff you'll buy while you're visiting here.

Also very important - bring sunglasses. If you forget them, there will be a thousand places you can pick up a cheap pair from a street vendor or the many many stores, but just make sure you have some sunglasses.

A few good articles on packing for NYC travel:

Mighty Girl's Packing Light NYC Edition

New York City Packing Lists from Virtual Tourist

Vanilla Cream Soda Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream

I've had some requests for the recipe of the cupcakes I made last night for my boss's birthday today (which were a hit!) - so, here you go!

Vanilla Cream Soda Cake Batter

(NOTE: You can doctor a box mix if you're short on time or just wanting a similar result without all the extra effort. Just buy a box of white cake mix and replace the water with the cream soda.)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups baker's sugar (superfine sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons shortening
1 1/2 cup Vanilla Cream Soda
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large egg whites

1. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add shortening, then use an electric mixer on medium speed to blend shortening into dry ingredients. Mix until no chunks of shortening are visible. This is your cake mix, which you can keep in a sealed container for several months until you are ready to make the cupcakes.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans. Batter will make approx. 24 to 30 cupcakes.

3. Blend dry cake mix (from step #1) with cream soda, oil and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed until moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 more minutes.

4. Pour batter into lined cupcake pans and bake for 19 to 22 minutes.

5. Allow to cool for 1 hour.


White Chocolate Buttercream - This recipe is courtesy of Baked

6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Using either a double boiler or a microwave oven (see page 23), melt the white chocolate and set it aside to cool.

In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream to cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 20 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla and white chocolate and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft, put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it is the proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.

Special Brick

Special Brick a photo by carryboo on Flickr.

This made me smile today.

Thought I'd share it and hopefully it would make someone else smile too.

Tips for NYC Tourists No. 2: "A New Yorker's Amazing Saturday"

Saturday was a fantastic day, filled with simple pleasures. Days like that remind me how much I love New York, which is why for this edition of "Tips for NYC Tourists", I wanted to do a day in the life style post.

Sweet hubs and I decided to go to the Upper East Side and take in the Houdini: Art and Magic exhibit at The Jewish Museum. It was a small, but very nicely curated exhibit.

They did an excellent historical background on Houdini and his rise to an american icon. One of my favorite parts was that on display were props used for his performances. It was really neat to see the actual size and construction of them as well as being able to learn more about the individual tricks. I really loved the paintings by one artist in particular that were on display by the name of Deborah Oropallo. It was a really well rounded exhibit and I'd definitely recommend seeing it before it closes on March 27th. Also, on Saturdays, it's free.

Since the weather was so beautiful, we decided to spend the rest of the day walking around in the city.

We started out walking down along Madison Avenue since it was time to grab some lunch. We ate at a little cafe called Viand on the corner of Madison and E. 78th Street. This was a very New York little diner/coffee shop. When I say "very New York", I mean it absolutely looks like a set from a Woody Allen movie. Anyhow, it was perfect for a quick lunch. Tourist note: If you're up in the "Museum Mile" area, you'll find plenty of little restaurants to grab lunch at along Madison Avenue - don't expect to find them along 5th Avenue where the museums are, unless you want to eat at a museum cafe, which will typically be overpriced and not that tasty.

After lunch, we headed over to 5th Avenue to walk down along Central Park, took some photos and enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air. We ended up wandering all the way down to Soho, which is where I happened to be meeting my girlfriends, Christina and Stefanie, for drinks at Pegu Club (77 W Houston St at W Broadway), which has absolutely amazing cocktails and dinner across the street at Jane (100 W Houston St between LaGuardia Place/W Broadway and Thompson Street), which is a fantastic little New American restaurant.

Madison Square Park (26th Street and 5th Avenue)

Madison Square Park (24th Street and Madison Avenue)

E 22nd Street and Park Avenue South

E. 11th Street and 4th Avenue

E. 11th Street and 4th Avenue

Sweet hubs.

Cooper Union (Cooper Square and Astor Place)

The Noho Star (and yes, that's actually how their sign is) - Great little restaurant. (Bleecker St and Lafayette St)

Lafayette St. and E Houston St.

Pegu Club (W. Houston and W. Broadway)

The Tune-Up at Pegu Club

Me, Stefanie and Christina at Jane

So that is a day in the life of a New Yorker. It was a simple day filled with lots of walking and taking in the beautiful architecture that NYC has to offer.

Who Doesn't Love a Treehouse?

Today, I received my daily Jetsetter email (speaking of, if you're not a member of Jetsetter, you should join. Like right now. Because it's amazing.) and featured was an interesting vacation concept: a hotel, aptly named Treehotel, that is actually several treehouses, which range in style from "organic" to "modern", and is located in Harads, Sweden.

The Bird's Nest

The Blue Cone

The Cabin

The Mirrorcube

The UFO

Experiencing this has officially made its place on my bucket list.

Built in 2010 - they're continuing to adding more structures - it is "a new concept based on cooperation from well-known designers and architects. The result gives us a unique collection of hotel rooms. The denominator in common is the treehut."



About the location (courtesy of the Treehotel website):

Treehotel is located in the beautiful village of Harads, approximately 60 km south of the Arctic Circle, and one hour drive from Luleå, which has the largest airport in northern Sweden. Harads is a place that surrounded by forest and water and by stillness and wilderness. Here lives 600 inhabitants. We have restaurants, stores, hostel, gas station, swimming facilities, view point Klippan and a beautiful church.

Harads is located in Norrbotten in north of Sweden. Just by the valley of Lule River, approx 80 km from Luleå airport and 47 km upstream from Boden. It is a place that is dominated by forests and water, the serenity and wilderness. The village population are just over 600 people.

The On-Site Restaurant (Courtesy of the Treehotel website):

Delicacies from the northern pantry and Swedish cuisine. Our specialty is wild with ingredients from local suppliers, which Svantes Wild & berries. At Brittas Guesthouse we serve lunch every weekday. And for the weekends we serve lunch to our hotel guests. We also serve an a la carte menu if booked in advance.

Other amenities and activities offered are a sauna, horseback riding, hiking, river activities, snowshoe-ing, husky sleds, and lots of other outdoor excursions and experiences pending on the time of year you go.

Who wouldn't want to give this a try? Their philosophy is "Why not create a comfortable, well designed hotel which allows visitors to live in harmony with nature amongst the trees?" I'm sold.

Speaking of, if you do want to go for it, you can book a pretty sweet special through Jetsetter for the next 7 days. They also have specials if you are a fan on Facebook (currently to all of their Facebook fans they're offering the opportunity to stay at Treehotel in April with 30% discount. Offer valid from April 1st to April 30th. Contact them at info@treehotel.se for more information and booking.)

*Video and all photos courtesy of Treehotel.

Tips for NYC Tourists No. 1 "How to Tour NYC Without Looking Like a Tourist"

Image courtesy of Travel Muse.

Welcome to my new series, Travel Tips for NYC Tourists.

Today's topic is "How to Tour NYC Without Looking Like a Tourist". When I say "How to Tour" I really mean "How to Walk in NYC without Looking Like a Tourist". Sorry to mislead you, but it's important. REALLY important.

Walking: yes, it seems so simple, but once you get out on the streets of this wild, new and exciting city, tourists seem to forget common walking courtesy.

It could be the height of the buildings that causes delusions of grandeur or that you're overly stimulated by all of the people milling around you - either way, please equate walking in NYC to driving your car. Yes, the same rules apply.

Think of it this way: you commute to and from home, work, running errands, etc. in your car. If you're in the US, you drive on the right. When you drive, do you get frustrated when people cut you off? Stop suddenly in traffic? Text and drive? Drive in a cluster? Ok. Same rules apply to walking here. How, you ask? Well for NYC commuters, our sidewalks are our roads. During rush hour, we pretty much run like hell to the subway to get on our way home or out to dinner or out for drinks. If you're standing in the middle of an overcrowded sidewalk taking a photo of your friend in front of a souvenir shop with a Statue of Liberty, think of it as you just slammed on your breaks in the middle of the interstate to do something other than drive.

Just a little awareness and courtesy can make walking a lot more enjoyable and as a bonus, you won't be deemed a rude and inconsiderate tourist by us locals. Also on that note, if you see a person walking quickly with a look of concentration or irritation on their face, try not to think "Jeeze! New Yorkers are so rude and callous!" - that isn't necessarily the case here. You have just witnessed someone commuting who probably just encountered a typical tourist. Just ignore them, stay out of their way and go about your business. And definitely don't ask them directions. Do feel free to ask the people on a smoke break hanging out by a door or a police officer who is not currently in the process of answering an emergency of some type (they're surprisingly nice here) or even someone working in a store.

Another thing to avoid doing when walking in NYC is to walk several people across. Especially holding hands or having your arms linked. This is truly a bad idea. Again, we walk to the right (well most of us do) and if you, your mom, your sister and your dad are all standing next to each other, chances are, you're taking up the entire sidewalk AND walking much slower than we normally do. This will result in angering the local wildlife (yep, us good ole New Yorkers) and you could be pushed, given nasty looks, nudged out of the way, or have obscenities yelled at you. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

And a safety note: PLEASE don't walk and look up at the buildings. Because of their height, they can be very disorienting. I have seen people get hit by cars because they were looking up at the buildings and walked out into traffic. Do stop, move to the side and admire the architecture of NYC. It's phenomenal, but not worth getting hurt or killed for.

One last lesson for walking in NYC is try and keep up the pace. We walk fast. You can only get somewhere as fast as you can walk there.

Now, to summarize:

• Walk to the right.
• Don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk - instead, move to the side, out of the way.
• Try and keep up the pace with the folks around you.
• Don't ask questions to people who don't look like they want to answer your question.
• Do ask cops for directions.
• Try not to walk and look up at the buildings.

Thanks for reading and I hope you'll tune into my next edition of "Tips for NYC Tourists".

Something New: Tips for NYC Tourists

Image courtesy of Nebras Ezine.

March is here, I'm late doing my monthly mix (as usual), and I've been a busy busy gal. The mix is coming, warm weather is starting to peek its head out, I took my first long Brooklyn walk of the year yesterday (almost 7 miles) and I don't see my life getting any less busy for the next several months.

And on that note, I'm going to do something new to add to my laundry list of things to do!

Since it's almost spring and sweet hubs and I already have several friends making plans to come visit us in NYC over the next few months, I figured it'd be appropriate to do a series of posts on "Tips for NYC Tourists".

This idea was spawned the other day while on my commute home from work - now first let me say this, I don't dislike tourists. I love showing off NYC and all the things it has to offer. What I don't love is that no one has enlightened those visiting NYC as to how to make their trip more enjoyable and as a bonus to that, making the "locals" lives a little less chaotic in the process.

The topics will include such things as, "How to Tour NYC Without Looking Like a Tourist", "Mastering the Subway", "Hidden Gems" and other topics in that same vein. (Any New Yorkers who have anything they'd like me to add, please feel free to shoot me an email.)

Now that my new mini-project has been announced, it's time for me to start writing!

Happy Sunday, everyone!